Tuesday, October 09, 2007

The Kite Runner Movie

Charlotte Weekly/Union County Weekly hosted an exclusive showing of "The Kite Runner" Monday, Oct. 8 at Ballantyne Village Theatre. Based on the best-selling book by Khaled Hosseini, the story is about two boys growing up in Afgahanistan before the revolution in the late '70s. More than 250 guests had the opportunity to watch this breathtaking movie, whose wide release date was postponed because of safety concerns over the two young Afgani actors.

This forum is a place to share your thoughts on the movie.

How did the movie compare with the book?

What impact did the movie have on you?

Would you recommend this movie to a friend? Why or why not?

Feel free to leave your thoughts here.

All the best,

Alison

*A special thanks to Sean O'Connell, CW/UCW's arts and entertainment editor for helping to make the screening happen.

4 comments:

lj1838 said...

So many great beats to this story! Most of all (i) I loved the way the main character developed into a 3-dimensional, likable person as he learned about the steps he can take to make a difference. (2) I loved the way Hosseini juxtaposed the simplicity and innocence of kite flying to the harsh realities of Amir's world. To me the kite runner is a visual metaphor for all the complexities and cruelties that can boil beneath the surface.

How many of us read about these same brutalities and injustices in the newspaper, watch them on TV and the incidents become surreal? So we flick to another channel? Hosseini forces us to confront it all through another medium -- fiction -- through the lens of one character or a family we get to experience what they live through every day. It's not pretty.

Lena Joy Rose

The Eclectic Engineer said...

Good movie, true to book. Many in our group of four found the change in the main character not credible. (from passive to active). Nonetheless, a great introduction to the Afghan people and country. Noticed that much of the movie was filmed in China - interesting!

Ian said...

I love Hosseini’s confrontation with pivotal issues that are still prevalent in Afghanistan today. Paramount Vantage, the studio producing the film, just last week, postponed the release date back six weeks in an attempt to ensure the safety of the young actors in the film. The controversial rape scene and the political unrest between the Hazara and Pashtun are showcased in the movie www.kiterunnermovie.com It is a shame that the very topics Hosseini discusses in his novel are still, obviously, present today - so much so that a mere independent film could potentially cause drastic ramifications in the Afghan community.

Alison Woo said...

Last I heard, the two young actors were being moved to Dubai.

A great read to follow-up on "The Kite Runner" is Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns." The book is less violent and yet still hauntingly beautiful!